Super blood moon dazzles stargazers worldwide

A spectacular 'Super Blood Moon' lit up the sky on Sunday night and early Monday morning – as two rare lunar events took place at the same time.

A total lunar eclipse, when the Earth is positioned precisely between the sun and the moon so all three are in a line, made the moon appear like a glowing red disk in the sky – hence the name 'blood moon'.

During a total eclipse, the moon appears reddish in colour when it's illuminated by sunlight that's filtered and refracted by Earth's atmosphere. 

But the event was extra special because it occurred when the moon was near to its closest orbit to Earth, making it appear larger than usual and earning the nickname Super Blood Moon.

Photos captured by astronomers and astrophotographers around the world show our natural satellite looking more like Mars with its rusty red colour, as seen from Earth in the small hours on Monday (16).  (Daily Mail)